High-Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) is now in business. On July 31, Qualcomm completed the world’s first data call using the wireless networking technology. According to the company, the call achieved a data-transfer rate of more than 20 Mbits/s in a 5-MHz channel. With HSPA+, operators can double the data capacity and triple the voice capacity of their networks, compared to current HSPA deployments.
Also known as HSPA Evolved, HSPA+ is designed to enhance the mobile broadband user experience and enable a wide range of services. It delivers higher peak and average data rates, lower latency, better response times, longer battery life, and an improved, always-on experience compared to current mobile networks. It’s backward-compatible with prior WCDMA generations, and it doesn’t require new spectrum for deployment.
In fact, HSPA+ Release 7 will offer downlink data transfer rates of up to 28 Mbits/s and uplink rates of up to 11 Mbits/s. Future HSPA+ releases will support downlink peak rates of 42 to 84 Mbits/s and uplink peak rates of 23 Mbits/s through a variety of advanced techniques, including multiple carriers for transferring data. Operators will be able to leverage their existing network and spectrum resources for next-generation wireless bandwidth and performance.
Qualcomm achieved the data call using its MDM8200, which the company calls the industry’s first HSPA+ chip-set solution. Currently sampling, the MDM8200 supports deployments in existing frequency bands as well as in the 900-MHz band and the 2.5-GHz IMT-2000 extension band.
Qualcomm